File:Purse (FindID 96998).jpg

English: Preserved near complete leather purse dating from the Late Medieval or early Post Medieval period, probably c. 1400 – 1650.

The purse has been constructed from three pieces of leather: a separate front, back and pocket with an additional leather drawstring tie. The front piece has an attached stitched pocket. The back piece has an integral loop at the top in order to secure the purse to a belt or similar, and is composed of thinner leather than the front and the pocket pieces. The sides have been stitched together using a running stitch composed of a single coarse S-spun thread. After stitching the purse was turned inside-out in order to hide the stitching in the interior of the purse.
The drawstring was made from a single piece of irregular leather cut along its length into two strips, with one end attached by oversewing to the top of the front of the purse. One of the drawstring strips is then threaded through holes near the rim of the purse causing the purse to pull-closed with four folds on each side. The other strip of the drawstring is tied around the top of the purse and secured to the first strip with a reef knot. 
The leather has perished on one side of near the base, otherwise the purse is in good condition.

The purse can be compared with simple examples excavated in London (Egan, 1991; Nos. 1694, 1695) and dated to the late 13th to the late 14th century.